Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
by Ro3
Summary: There were technical difficulties on the first post of this. It's post-finale, and SethSummer (although it will take a few chapters to get to that point) See for yourself....
1. Default Chapter

A/N: This is the edited version of this story (it never really occurred to me when reading these stories, that you had to add in your OWN author's notes and what not). This is my first fanfic, but that doesn't mean that you should tread gently with your reviews, honesty is greatly appreciated.  
  
[[ Goodbye Yellowbrick Road ]]  
  
The water was calm and endless, the sun was setting beautifully. It was the type of setting that cameras were made for. There was no way that, in that serene of an atmosphere, anyone could possibly have any worries or troubles. Could they?  
  
Seth Cohen would certainly argue with that. After all, that was the whole reason he fled to Tahiti. There was too much to handle at home, and as much as he wanted an escape from it all, he realized how futile the attempt would be.  
  
Ryan was going back to Chino, and who was to say for how long. He couldn't help feeling sorry for Marissa, especially after all of the horrible things he had said to her. He knew she would miss Ryan just as much as him, but that didn't make it any easier. His parents, bless their heart, had enough to deal with after his grandfather's wedding. So here he was, out in the middle of the beautiful ocean...feeling sorry for himself.  
  
Everything was so undetermined at this point. There were entirely too many variables, and it was scaring Seth. As carefree as he would have liked to admit himself to be, he knew that he was extremely dependent on the few constants in his life. His friendship with Ryan was one of them, most likely the largest one. Now that Ryan had left, Seth realized that his entire world could be thrown off balance. The only logical conclusion he could come to would be to leave. Pack up, and hit the road – or sea, given the situation. Newport was turning back into the vain, elitist society that he had been able to ignore over the last year.  
  
It was at this introspective moment that Seth thought about Summer. How would she react to his letter? It wasn't very verbose, something rare for Seth Cohen to accomplish. It was short, sweet, and to the point. He had already voiced his concern over Ryan leaving.  
  
He had told her the importance Ryan held in his life, and she just looked at him. He knew it was too much to expect her to relate to him, but the pitying stare that she was giving him was too much to bare. Would she be able to stay with him? If there was no Ryan, there was no "Ryan and Marissa: power couple." Without her best friend always spending time at the Cohen household, was it really feasible to expect her to? Seth didn't chance asking. He was afraid of the answer.  
  
So, here he was. In the middle of one of the most gorgeous natural sights he had ever been witness to. He was bearing witness to the wondrous beauty that Mother Nature possessed, Jack Kerouac would be so proud. And, yet, all he could think of was Newport and the very society that he was attempting to ignore.  
  
you know you can't hold me forever i didn't sign up with you i'm not a present for your friends to open this boy's too young to be singing the blues  
  
so, goodbye yellow brick road where the dogs of society howl you can't plant me in your penthouse i'm going back to my plough  
  
back to the howling old owl in the woods hunting the horny back toad oh, i've finally decided my future lies beyond the yellow brick road  
  
[[ musical credits ]] "Goodbye Yellowbrick Road" by Elton John 


	2. Broken

A/N: Sorry for all of the difficulties in getting out this next installment (obviously, I'm just not that good at the whole "updating" thing. I promise I'll try harder the next go 'round). Anyway, here's chapter two, and I hope ya'll like it!  
  
This is Summer's point-of-view, after Seth's departure. I swear, this will eventually turn into a REAL story, with a full-fledged plot line and everything! Just laying out the groundwork here, folks.  
  
[[ Broken ]]  
  
Summer walked out of the Cohen's front door with a solemn look on her face. It was really sweet of Kirsten to offer to let her stay at the house for a while, but truth be told, the woman wasn't doing all that well herself. Summer couldn't put Kirsten through that. She had just lost both of her sons in one fell swoop. Although, as selfish as it may seem, the real reason for Summer's quick departure was to feign indifference.  
  
The Cohens had left her to privately read Seth's letter, but that didn't take long. When she emerged from his room teary-eyed, they had kindly offered her food and drink, as well as the pool house to gather her thoughts. That wasn't a good idea, though. They had shared so many kisses in that same pool house. There was no way she would be able to step foot in there, not after reading Seth's letter.  
  
The letter was ambiguous at best. It had told her none of Seth's motives, or what he was trying to accomplish. It never even clearly stated why he had left in the first place. The fact that he didn't state when he would be back was not lost on her, either. Fear coursed through her body as she pondered over the fact of whether Seth had left permanently. She quickly erased the thought from her head.  
  
'You can't think like that,' she scolded herself.  
  
Her fear of his departure being permanent dissipated as she convinced herself that he would be back. However, as that fear decreased, Summer's anger increased. Call it habitual if you want, but Summer Roberts could not be sad without shortly getting pissed off soon after. However, the anger was not guided towards Seth or anyone else as much as she would have liked it to be, but rather, her anger was geared towards herself.  
  
Summer was angry that Seth had left so abruptly, but she was also beginning to feel as though she could have prevented it. She had seen the sullen look on his face at his grandfather's party. He had said he wanted to be left alone, but she was able to read through it then, and looking back in retrospect, she could still read through it. Seth Cohen wanted someone to be there. It was a cliché sentiment, but it was true. He had perfected indifference for his entire childhood, having always been the outcast in young Newport society. Much of that was as much his doing as it was the doing of the little brats that created such cliques. Even after it all, however, it was apparent that Seth still needed the one thing, despite his loving parents and abundant family wealth – friendship.  
  
As Summer was mentally kicking herself for not sitting with Seth at his grandfather's party, she thought back to the little attention, much less affection, she had given him before. She had barely acknowledged his existence before, and for that, her anger towards herself increased.  
  
As Summer reached the bottom of the Cohens' driveway, she turned around and looked at the mansion. She felt her heart break as she thought of Seth, lonely and broken, and for the first time that day, she began to see a similarity between the two of them.  
  
__

__

_I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh  
__I want to hold you high and steal your pain away I keep your photograph;   
__I know it serves me well I want to hold you high and steal your pain  
'Cause I'm broken when I'm open And I don't feel like I am strong enough   
__'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome And I don't feel light when you're gone away_

[[ musical credit ]] "Broken" by Seether, featuring Amy Lee


End file.
